#like I'm going to go into a Last of Us rabbit hole this summer

[kittyhasskittles]

There's nothing like hearing Joel's voice for the first time playing TLOU and giggling and kicking my feet as I play through act 1.

[jimblejamblewritings]

the fake date plot | part 1.

Summary: Gryffindors, seventh years, classmates, unrequited love. Just a few things Y/N and James Potter had in common. When a brilliantly dumb plan is hatched the two end up getting something a little different than what they wanted.

Author's Note: Hello! Yes, I'm here with a wip before finishing my other stuff. The James girlies have led me down a rabbit hole and some of the cutest stories are in the James tag. So before you read this, please read: If I Kiss You, I'm Sorry by @astonishment which is what inspired this fic.

Warnings for the Series: literally none that I can think of this is supposed to be just good fluffy fun

Pairing: James Potter x reader

Word Count: 2.3k

A/N II: I literally use whatever gif comes up when I type in 'James Potter' but imagine your own fancasts and I might switch up every now and then

Series Masterlist

“Prongs, there’s some owl at the window,” Remus said as he exited the kitchen. 

James lifted his head, trying not to disturb Peter who was using his chest as a headboard while he tried to solve the Rubik’s Cube Remus had bought him for his birthday. It was summer and naturally, as someone going into his last year of school when break ended, James threw a party at his house.

His parents were going to be on business trips most of the summer. The party was a major success. Only the marauders, Lily, Marlene, Dorcas, and Mary were still there. They had all planned on staying, already having their trunks there. School was in two days. 

James hopped up from where he was on the floor, cleaning the smudge of his glasses. “Oh, that must be Elton.” 

“Elton?” Peter asked. 

“Y/N’s bird. She really likes Elton John’s music. He’s some muggle singer. Moony knows, the Crocodile Rock dude.” 

James left the rest of his friends in the living room to ask how he even knew you while he got your letter. He dug around the fridge to give Elton two blackberries as a thank you. James opened your letter in the kitchen before going back to his friends, in case your letter had confidential information in it.

He hid the smirk on his face behind the letter when he saw his friends’ expressions. They totally bought it and they would buy it even more when he saw you on the Hogwarts Express in two days. You and James came up with the best fake date plot known to man last school year: 

It was the Yule Ball. Hogwarts kept the name even though you didn’t have Triwizard Tournaments every year. The students like that. It was always fun to go to a ball. It was also nerve wracking. Everyone was trying to get a date or they’d risk being talked about for a century. James was failing at asking Lily out and you were failing at avoiding a few boys that wanted to ask you out. None of them were the guy you wanted to ask you out. 

Even when you got to the ball, boys were still trying to ask you to dance. You grabbed a cup of punch and excused yourself. You walked further away from the Great Hall and to a small corridor. A dark figure made you stop for a moment before continuing on your path. A sniffle made you stop completely. 

“Are you okay?” 

James jumped. Wiping at his eyes, he looked over at you. James stuttered through lies before giving up and turning the other way to lean his back against the windowsill. He took a sip of the drink he had in his hand and looked over at you. 

“She can't even spare a dance with me. I thought everything was going well this year.” 

You gave a dry laugh. “I totally know the feeling.” 

James raised an eyebrow. He patted the space next to him and went to join him at the windowsill. The two of you clinked glasses and downed the rest of your drinks. James disappeared the cups. 

“So which bloke did you want to dance with?” 

“Oh, I don’t really think that’s important.” 

“Nope, Y/N. It is totally important. I’ve poured my heart out to you, it’s just not right to be the only one.” 

“Fine. Xenophilius… Don’t laugh.” 

“I’m not laughing. Him? Really?” 

“I know he’s snogged a lot of people but h—” 

“Love, he’s shagged nearly all of Ravenclaw. The only long term relationship he’s ever been in was Pandora.” 

“But they lasted all of fifth year plus the Ministry added eighth year so there’s still time to see him a lot.” 

“Ugh, don’t remind me about eighth year.” 

The Ministry was very concerned with the amount of Hogwarts graduates getting married and having children right after leaving school. Especially when a good chunk of them died either fighting for Voldemort or against Voldemort. Adding an extra school year was a way to try and quell that phenomenon. As someone so close to graduating, you hated it at first. It became only a minor annoyance when you realized the Ministry probably wouldn’t be changing their minds until Voldemort was defeated. 

James shrugged his shoulders. “So what’s your plan exactly? Pine after Xeno all of next year and then when eighth year comes around hope he stops hooking up in Gryffindor locker rooms long enough to realize you’re perfect for him?” 

“He hooks up in Gryffindor locker rooms?” you asked with slightly widened eyes. 

“Unfortunately. Our rooms are closest to the pitch, easier to sneak in and out during games.” 

“Do you really think I’m perfect for him?” 

“Y/N,” James said with a roll of his eyes. “I haven’t sat next to you in Potions every class since first year to not know that if Xeno took just a week off from trying to fuck everything with a pulse he’d know you are one of the nicest and cutest girls he’s ever going to get. You’re wicked smart too which is up his alley… I still don’t understand how he still gets the grades he does.” 

“Thanks, James. For what it’s worth, I think Lily is missing out on a very observant and handsome and sweet guy even if your pranks go a little too far sometimes.” 

“Well, we only save those for people that like to pick on those smaller than them.” 

“I know.” 

“Do you feel like going back to the ball? Because I don’t.” 

“Not really.” 

James held out his arm. “Shall we make our way to Gryffindor, my lady.” 

“We shall, good sir.” 

You and James skipped through the halls until you made it back to Gryffindor tower. You ended up following him up to his dorm which you had never seen before. Despite being assigned class partners since you two were eleven, you weren’t exactly friends with James Potter. Just acquaintances was what you were. 

The marauders’ dorm was nice. The first thing you noticed was the fact that they reconfigured their beds. Almost every bed was laying horizontal and flush against the wall, like a bed turned couch. And the wardrobes were also flush against the wall either at the head or foot of the beds, whichever allowed all the beds to see each other. You’d have to proposition your roommates about doing that. It made the space so much wider and seemed to give everyone a personal area. 

James led you to his bed area with a blue rug in front of it. You took off your shoes and set them neatly next to his, noting how he was very organized about his shoes being lined up underneath the bed. James moved to the wardrobe at the foot of his bed. His hand dug through the shelves for his pajamas. 

“Do you want something to change into?” 

You took some of his clothes with a thanks and went into the bathroom to wash and get changed. You and James were going to open the firewhiskey in Sirius’ trunk and vent to each other while getting progressively drunker. James started to make himself a little cot on the floor while you took a shower. Something told him that you two would probably stay up late and potentially fall asleep. He already decided that you were getting the bed. 

You laid down on the bed and ate some fizzing whizbees while waiting for James to finish showering. You shot up when James practically broke his own door. His hair was still wet and his clothes looked very disheveled on him. 

“I have a plan so dumb it might work on luck alone,” he said as he shook your shoulders. 

“I’m listening.” 

“Go out with me.” 

You laughed. “James, are you already drunk?” 

“Just a bit tipsy. But listen to me. You want Xenophilius, I want Lily but neither of them seem to really notice us. So let’s make them notice.” 

“You want to make them jealous?” 

“Well, I don’t know if they’ll be jealous but I want to make them feel something. Don’t you think they would at least be curious about why we suddenly stopped pinning over them? They’d at least talk to us more, I just know it.” 

“Okay, one problem. You scream through the corridors about how much you love Lily. I think only my friends know that I like him and one of those friends is Lily.” 

“You two are friends?” 

“Well, we’re roommates, one of the few Gryffindor dorms with five girls. I’m really just friends with Dorcas and Alice when she’s not holed up in Hufflepuff.” 

“I hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but you’re gonna have to do something embarrassing.” 

And that was how you found yourself waiting outside Ravenclaw’s locker room before the big quidditch match on the last day of first semester. If anyone talks, it’s going to be quidditch players. They chuckled a bit while you waited for Xenophilius to come outside, some even going back in to tell him that you were there. 

He finally left the dressing room after what seemed like forever and stood right in front of you. Reluctantly, you gave him a small gift and wished him luck before scurrying to find your roommates in the stands. You didn’t think it would take very long for the gossip to spread. What you didn’t expect was for you to get the label of a lovesick puppy. That was worse than what they called James. You told him such over winter break. 

The two of you were at his house for the entirety of the break, teaching each other all about yourselves and finishing the plot. You two wouldn’t start fake-dating until the start of seventh year, on the Hogwarts Express to be exact… with James doing a big gesture that was entirely his idea. He was super invested in making it believable. If it wasn’t believable then there was no point. 

James handed over your letter to Peter who was still next to him. “Y/N says hi and she’s sorry she couldn’t make it to the party.” 

“Since when were you talking to our roommate?” Marlene asked. 

“Since I’ve sat next to her everyday in Potions and Transfiguration since we were first years.” 

“You’ve been assigned that long?” 

“Yeah,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “Minnie and Slughorn never switched us. I should probably write something back to her.” 

The only thing in James’ letter was that he thinks the plan might work. Everyone perked up at the notion of you two being secret friends so maybe fake-dating would work after all. You threw the letter into your trunk and headed to Platform 9 and ¾. You went to find Alice who would hopefully be alone or with her other Hufflepuff friends. 

That was what James wanted anyway. He came in about halfway through the train ride when you were in the middle of talking with your friends. James sheepishly held up a sweater and tapped on the window. Alice nodded for him to come in. The girl was shocked when he immediately turned to you. 

“Bug?” 

“Yes, Prongs?” 

“Do you remember last year when you said you sew? Do you think you can mend this?” 

“It’s not even autumn yet. Why do you need the jumper now?” 

“I just thought I’d forget unless I said it right at this moment.” 

You rolled your eyes but looked for a sewing kit in your trunk. Setting it on the bench, you grabbed the sweater and gently pushed him out of the room. 

“Why am I friends with you?” 

“Because you love me.” 

“Goodbye, James Potter.” 

“Bye, Bug. Thank you.” 

You sat back down and dug through your sewing kit before muttering that you didn’t have navy blue thread and would try to find some. You had already known that you didn’t have the correct color thread. But a certain Ravenclaw probably did. Your hand shook a bit as you closed the door to your compartment: 

“What are Xeno’s hobbies?” James asked when you two took a break to hang out at the pool in his backyard when you arrived early in the summer. 

“I don’t know.” 

“That’s a load of bull. I know Lily’s favorite gemstone is carnelian because it matches her hair. So what’s one of the man's hobbies?” 

“He likes to sew.” 

“Oh this is brilliant.” 

You knocked on the door of the train compartment that Xenophilius, his friends, and the new girl he was with for the start of school. He and his friends smiled at seeing you and let you in. You held up the sweater. 

“Do any of you have navy blue thread? I’m trying to mend a jumper.” 

Xeno summoned the spool of thread from out of his trunk. He held it up in his hand until you came in to receive it. His hold lingered on yours. 

“You like to sew?” 

You shrugged. “It’s more of a hobby. I’ve only ever done stuff for myself until now.” 

“Is that for your mum? My first gift to someone else was for my parents.” 

“No, James Potter. The idiot can’t mend a simple hole in a sweater. Thank you for the thread, I’ll return it before dinner.” 

You smiled a little as you walked back to your compartment. Xenophilius’ smile had twitched a bit when you mentioned James’ name. Maybe his plan might work. Your friends had clearly been gossiping about you when you were gone. There was no doubt that the Ravenclaws were gossiping about you when you left. And because James insisted that you give him his sweater once everyone got into the Great Hall, you were sure other people were bound to gossip. 

James ignored the other marauders when they got back to their dorms. He’d tell his friends the truth eventually but it was necessary they also believe the lie for at least a month or two. You and him were supposed to be close friends for the first month. If Lily or Xenophilius didn’t make a move from that alone then you would start fake-dating. It was a foolproof idea really.

(part 2)

PERMANENT TAGLIST:

@venomsvl @peaches-n-sunscreen @summerellaz @supernaturallover2002 @sambucky8 @9daykrisr @thebitchinleo @23victoria @scarlets-widow @pagetpagetpagetpaget @lovexnatasha @awesomebooklover17 @1234-angelika @imatrisk @blackreaderatrisk @princess-jules47 @alexloveskili @a-marie-a @siriuslysirius1107​ @i-have-no-life-charlie

[livingdreams97]

Sarah Cameron -- "The Ice Cream" (Part 2)

Sarah Cameron x Male reader/oc

Summary: Being the Kook Princess has never mattered to Sarah, especially when her heart beats and her eyes are only been fixed on a certain Pogue since she shared an ice cream with him at the age of 11.

Words: 4.291

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Masterlist

POV You

I quickly put all the clothes possible into my backpack, after having written a letter to my grandparents where I explain everything that had happened this month and the reason for my departure. 

I close the backpack with my clothes in it, leaving the letter on the middle of my bed and taking one last look at my room.

With a deep breath, I leave my room through the window and get on my bike heading to the hangar where we have to met. JJ has a phanton in that hangar and we'll use that ship to escape the Outer Banks.

The summer had gone wrong in unimaginable ways. At the time I said that looking for gold was not a good idea, that it would bring us problems and that we would end up getting into trouble. But no one paid attention to me, the only one who listened to me was Kiara and the rest just said that nothing could happen.

Well, guess who was right and who is in serious trouble. Yes, as you imagined: us. It all started when my friend John B wanted to find out where his father was and prove that he was still alive. That led us to the Royal Merchant, which was the ship John B's father was looking for and the gold that was inside the ship.

We took a gamble several times to find the boat, but when we found it; The gold was gone and the dream of a better life disappeared with the tide. 

Kiara, Pope and I accepted it, but JJ and John B didn't want to accept it. So JB continued investigating and realized that the gold never sank with the ship; but Denmarck Tanny took it before the sinking.

He appeared overnight on the island and paid for everything with the Royal Merchant's gold. It turns out that before he was murdered, he hid the gold somewhere on his land and left a hidden message to his son about where it was. Message that JB with the help of Sarah discovered and we found out where it was.

And it was nothing more and nothing less than the house of the ax murderer. I wasn't sure if she murdered her husband with an axe or not, but people talk and sometimes they get it right.

Shortening everything; we found the gold. It turns out that in her basement there was a well and halfway down the well there was a hole. It is like the rabbit hole, when you enter you find unimaginable riches.

But before we could get the gold, Ward beat us to it and didn't leave a single ounce behind. But the worst is not that. When he tried to get the gold off the island, he ended up kidnapping Sarah and me; since we were together at that time. 

JB tried to stop him and let's just say that Rafe ended up killing Sheriff Peterkin while she was arresting Ward; his father.

They blamed JB, since I was half unconscious and the man wouldn't be able to blame his own daughter for a murder. Besides, in this way, he got rid of John B and so he couldn't say that Ward killed his father.

The rest is history and now we find ourselves on the run. Ward had made it clear that he would kill JB no matter what and I'm sure he's even capable of killing me too. 

So we had decided to flee the island, John B, Sarah and I to be safe. But everything was failing, I didn't know where John or Sarah were; whether they have reached the hangar or not.

My concern grows by the moment, knowing that JB could have been arrested and Ward could have kidnapped Sarah again. And this time I wasn't with her.

Y/n: What the fuck!- I exclaimed after having entered the hangar and finding Barry unconscious on the floor; and Pope choking Rafe with a rope or something.

JJ: That's it, Pope, you're killing him.- he says quickly; trying to get him to let go.

Kiara: Pope, stop it. - She screams scared next to our friend.

I quickly run over to the boys and gently kick Pope behind the knee. His knee gives out quickly, destabilizing him a bit and giving me time to grab him from behind and pull him away from Rafe.

Y/n: What the hell is on your mind, huh? - I asked him annoyed, pushing him aside and separating him from Sarah's brother.

JJ: Y/n, this is not the time.- he tells me somewhat scared.

Y/n: No, it is JJ.- I assure yhim, looking at him for a few moments. -What the hell were you thinking of doing, huh? Choke him and kill him? Don't you think we already have enough shit on us? - I ask him upset; looking at him like he was crazy.

Pope: I don't...- he starts but stops talking.

Y/n: You don't what? You weren't thinking, That's what's happening.- i growl, looking at Rafe and Barry on the floor. -Have the others arrived?- I ask Kiara and JJ.

Kiara: Not yet, we were about to take the boat into the water and wait for you. - She answers a little calmer.

Y/n: Well, come on, we don't have all day and the storm is getting closer and closer. - I say, approaching the boat and helping to take it out to the pier.

Kiara: JJ, are you sure this is going to work? - she asks a little unsure, while we put the boat in the water and it begins to float on its own.

JJ: It may be 40 years old, but it is the fastest and most reliable boat we can get right now. - He answers, placing some bags inside the boat. -We think there is enough food for the three of us.- he tells me with a grimace; pointing at the bags with his head.

Kiara: We have taken as much as possible from my parents' restaurant,.- she explains with a sigh. -How much longer are they going to take?- she asks after a few minutes.

Pope: Give them time, they will come.- he answers seriously and a little calmer.

But as soon as he finishes speaking, we hear police sirens approaching and we see one of the patrol cars approaching. The four of us quickly became alert, preparing for the worst and to run away as quickly as possible. But we all relax when John B gets out of the car.

Kiara: Excuse me? - confusedly questions.

Y/n: Damn.- I exclaim frustrated, since we have to go and he can't think of a better idea than to steal a police car.

Pope: I can't believe it- he exclaims; as we watch our friend walk towards us.

JJ: This is a joke.- he murmurs and I look at him a little amused.

John B: Shoupe let me take a walk.- he comments amusingly, a few centimeters away from us.

Kiara: Of course, because it's totally believable and for now I'm buying it. - she comments with irony and fun, approaching him and giving him a hug.

JJ: It hasn't been easy, but I brought the phantom and it runs like it was smart.- he says, throwing him the boat keys. -Are you ready?- he asks.

John B: And Sarah? - he asks and I look at him alarmed.

Y/n: Isn't she with you? - I asked worried. -You were supposed to be together.- I say, approaching him quickly.

John B: No, we separated in the marshes.- He answers me quickly. -She told me she would come.- he comments a little worried.

Pope: We haven't seen her, man.- he assures him and I feel fear run through my body.

Y/n: I'm not going to leave without her.- I assure them getting off the boat.

John B: Me neither.- He seriously supports me.

JJ: John B and Y/n, I know you guys don't like it but you have to go and as soon as possible.- he says seriously to both of us.

The idea does not cross my mind for a moment, I refuse to leave the island without her, much less leaving her in the hands of her father. I shake my head, seeing the surprise on everyone's faces and prepare a plan.

Y/n: I need the keys to your motorcycle JJ.- I tell him, stretching my hand towards him. -I'll take a quick turn and I'll be waiting for you at the long docks at the end.- I informed my friend JB; who nods in agreement.

Kiara: Y/n is crazy, you won't have time and you won't be able to leave. - she says a little worried, while I receive the keys from JJ and start walking towards the motorcycle.

Y/n: On a motorcycle you can get to the dock sooner than on a boat, I assure you, getting on the motorcycle and starting it up. I have time to take a quick look and arrive a few moments before John B to the dock.- I say, sure of myself and saying goodbye quickly to get away from my friends.

Sarah POV

I get off the paddle-surf board, getting on the grass and letting myself fall for a few moments. I don't know how long I've been in the marshes, swimming and trying to get to where we are; but I know it's a lot.

I can't be late, I promised Y/n when we parted last night that I would arrive and we could escape together. I have to keep my promise and get off this island with him. So after a few minutes of rest, I get up from the ground and start running towards where we will all met.

Ten minutes running and I feel like I'm going to faint. I'm not used to playing sports and right now it's taking a toll on me. I stop to try to breathe better and rest for a few moments. But I realize that it is too late and that the boys will have already gotten on the boat.

I think quickly, realizing that to get off the island, they have to go through the long docks at the exit of the marshes and that I might still be able to catch them.

I quickly run to the opposite side to where I was running, feeling every muscle in my body scream for me to stop and how breathing becomes increasingly difficult. But I think about Y/n, about the promise and how his eyes shine when they look at me and that is more than enough to give me energy.

I have to get there, for Y/n and for me; but mostly for Y/n. I can't imagine being without him, I've loved him since I was 11 when he dropped his ice cream and I shared mine with him. Since then I have liked him, but over time we grew apart and I found other people.

People who filled a void and space that belonged to him. A space that has been filled since the beginning of summer, by him and by that perfect kiss in his bathroom that started it all. 

I have waited a long time to be with him and now that he is my boyfriend; I'm not going to let it slip away.

With a smile on my face at the memory of my boyfriend, I run with the little energy and strength I have. In the distance I can see the entrance to the docks, causing enormous relief and hope within me. I just have to get to the dock and pray that the boys show up on the boat.

When I'm halfway along one of the docks, I see a ship approaching and I run faster to the end. I raise my arms in the air and start screaming; when I realize that John B is driving.

Sarah: John B! Y/n!- I shout with a big smile, feeling the relief come to me and I approach the edge of the pier. -Oh my god, I thought you were leaving without me.- I exclaim happily, getting on the boat and hugging John B. -Y/n?- I ask confused, when I turn around to greet him and can't find him.

John B: He's out looking for you, he's supposed to be here by now, but it's just you and not both of you.-  he answers worriedly.

Sarah: Well, let's wait for him.- I say a little scared that something has happened to him and he won't be able to arrive.

John B: We can't Sarah, we have to go now.- he tells me seriously, returning to the wheel and starting the boat.

Sarah: No! - I scream at him angrily. -We cannot leave him behind and leave without him, we still have some time.- I say fanatically, trying to get him to stop so I can wait for my boyfriend.

John B: We can't, if we don't leave now we will not be able to pass in front of the control center without being seen and there we will have a serious problem.- he explains shouting to me, so that I can hear him and understand him.

Sarah: But we can't leave him here.- I assure scared, holding onto the bar next to the helm. -My father or brother will kill him.- I comment scared.

John B: He was half unconscious, your father does not consider him a threat or he would have already reported him to the police.- he assures me; without separating his gaze from the water.

Sarah: But I can't leave him, I made him a promise and I have to keep it. - I say frustrated, feeling the first tear slide down my cheek. -Is your friend, you can't leave him here.- I remind him, feeling the emptiness inside me again.

John B: He has the pogues, he won't be alone and he knows where we are going.- It reminds me; trying to relieve myself.

Sarah: But I promised him.- I whisper with a broken voice, letting myself fall to the floor of the ship and sit with my back to the command; watching the marshes disappear.

I only see the marshes move further and further away, leaving behind a broken promise and feeling again that emptiness inside me that, thanks to Y/n, no longer existed. 

I return to where I was at the beginning of summer, empty and cold. But there is something that makes me feel worse, the promise that I am breaking and breaking my heart with it.

POV You

I don't know what happened or how it happened. The only thing I know is that something knocked me off the bike; shortly before the entrance to the docks and that I have Rafe on me. Everything has happened too quickly and I am somewhat confused by the situation.

I only feel Rafe's weight on my stomach, while his fists collide with my face repeatedly and he asks me the same thing.

Rafe: Where is Sarah? - he asks again for the seventh time, hitting my left cheekbone and making me grunt from the pain.

Y/n: I don't know, I was looking for her too.- I respond angrily, trying to get him off of me and prevent him from continuing to hit me.

Rafe: Why it is that I don't believe you, dirty pogue.- he growls annoyed, punching me two more times on the left side of my face and making me feel the blood in my mouth. -Where is Sarah?- he asks, giving me another blow.

Y/n: I swear I don't know.- I shout worried, since I'm starting to see blurry and only being able to use my left arm, becouse I can't shake him off of me.

Rafe: I'm going to try again.- he growls and hits me square in the nose; causing a shock of pain and a crack in my face followed by a scream on my part. -Where... is... my... sister... Sarah?- he asks, hitting my face hard with each word and with obvious anger.

I just blink disoriented, feeling like my body is shutting down and the pain is starting to be too much. I can assure you that the fall from the motorcycle has broken my right arm or at least dislocated my shoulder; because I can't move it without feeling like it's being ripped away from me.

My mind blurs, losing count of the punches that Rafe has given me and continues to hit me without stopping. I feel the swelling in my left eye, starting to notice how it is closing and leaving me less visibility.

Barry: Hey hey, stop stop stop or you'll end up killing him. I listen to him say it, but Rafe doesn't stop and continues hitting me.

Rafe: Answer! - He shouts in my face.

Y/n: I.II.. I do... don't ..know....- I respond in a choked manner, feeling the blood accumulate in my throat and begin to choke me.

Rafe: You are lying! - he shouts in my face again; hitting me again but with even more force.

I just stop fighting, letting my left hand fall to the ground and feeling that the pain is unbearable. But in a way, I feel like all the noise disappears and I stop feeling the pain from the blows. 

I feel a horrible cold pass through my back, wrapping around my body and making me stop feeling every extremity of it.

Tiredness invades me, my pupils feeling heavier than ever in my life and the only thing I see is Sarah. The only thing that comes to mind is her. The memory that started it all.

Flashback

My 11-year-old self leaves the town ice cream shop, with a huge smile and my mouth watering from the Brownie ice cream in my hand. My tongue takes a few licks, feeling the incredible flavor flood my taste buds and feeling the cold lower my body temperature.

But my happiness is short-lived, when I stick out my tongue to take another lick and someone accidentally bumps into me, causing me to drop the scoop of ice cream on the floor. Immediately sadness fills me, as I stare at my ice cream on the floor and feel my eyes watering.

That was my ice cream of the month and I won't be able to have another one until next month. My grandparents are not going to give me money for more and I have behaved very well. But my grandparents always say only one a month, that they don't have money and that they can't pay me more.

So I'm left watching my ice cream start to melt against the asphalt, holding back my tears and feeling completely sad.

XX: Here.- I hear a tender and small voice.

I look up from the ground, seeing a girl with pretty eyes and a pretty smile. But she's missing a tooth next to the big ones, although she still has a very pretty smile and I like that.

I notice her arm and how she is holding out a cone with white and brown ice cream to me. I look at her strangely, without really understanding what is happening and why she is offering me her ice cream. No one I know has the money to offer ice cream, especially not to a stranger.

XX: I saw that you dropped it and I thought we could share mine. - she offers with a small smile, with red cheeks and with her blonde hair moving in the wind.

It's like in those movies that grandma watches, where the wind moves the woman's hair and you can see how pretty she is. And she is very pretty, I like her little hole between her teeth and the chocolate color of her eyes; they shine a lot.

Y/n: Why? - I ask confused, looking between the ice cream and her little eyes.

XX: Because you are sad and I don't want you to be.- she answers with a little jump and a big smile.

Y/n: Don't you mind sharing it with me? - I asked hopefully, taking a step forward and getting closer to her.

XX: No, mommy told me that I have to share and that we have to be kind. - she answers me, offering me the ice cream again.

Y/n: But I'm a stranger.- I assure with a small grimace on my lips.

XX: I'm Sarah.- she introduces herself, stretching out her free hand and I offer her mine.

Y/n: I am Y/n.- I introduce myself with a smile.

Sarah: We are no longer strangers, now we can share ice cream and get to know each other. - She assures me with a big smile, making her cheeks turn redder and she looks even prettier.

Y/n: I like your eyes.- I comment, giving her ice cream a lick.

Sarah: Thank you.- she says looking at the ground for a second and looking up again. -I like yours, they are a very wow blue.- she says, nodding her head and I feel warmer than normal on my cheeks.

Y/n: Thank you.- I whisper embarrassed, looking at the ground for a few seconds and picking it up again; to watch her happily lick her ice cream.

End Flashback

I feel a tingle in the inside at that memory, knowing that that was the moment when everything started and changed my life. But the memory moves on to a more recent one, the memory from almost a week ago and the most significant of all.

Flashback

I keep my eyes closed, feeling the tranquility and peace of my room dimly lit by a lantern. One hand holds my head, to keep it a little elevated on the pillow, and the other gently caresses my girlfriend's back.

Sarah: What do you plan to do with your share of the gold? - I hear her ask me and I open my eyes to see her; stopping the movement of my hand.

Y/n: I have a few things on my mind.- I respond with a smile, seeing how she rests her chin on my chest and looks at me intently.

Sarah: What things? - She asks interested and with evident curiosity in her eyes.

Y/n: First, I'm leaving this island.- I assure her, watching her bite her delicious lip. -I would take my grandparents and give them a much better life than the one they have here.- I explain, seeing how she smiles and lets me see her perfect teeth.

Sarah: And where would you go? - she asks, moving on top of me, placing both palms of her hands on my chest and resting her chin on them.

Y/n: I don't know, somewhere quiet; in which they don't try to kill me every day and there are no pogues or kooks. - I respond with a small sigh, moving my hand again and continuing with the caresses on her back.

Sarah: And would you leave me here alone? - she asks with a playful pout and I deny amused.

Y/n: Of course not, you would come with me and we would have our own house. - I assure her smiling, seeing the pout leave her face and be replaced by a bright smile full of emotion.

Sarah: And what would our house be like? - she asks me excitedly.

Y/n: A white house, with black details, with one or two floors and with a nice porch at the entrance. - I begin to detail. -With a large garden to plant flowers and if we have children in the future we can play in it.- I explained, seeing a different shine in her eyes, unknown to me.

Sarah: Do you want to have children with me? - she asks me and an involuntary smile appears on my face.

Y/n: I want everything with you princess, I want to marry you, for us to form a family together, for us to live all the adventures possible and to grow old together like modern grandparents. - I reply amused, listening to her laughter and feeling the accelerated flutter of my heart.

Sarah: I also want to do all that with you.- she assures me, calming her laughter. -I want us to have at least three children, I don't care what they are and what they like; I just want to be happy by your side. - she comments with a small happy sigh.

Y/n: And we will be.- I assure her, moving my hand from under my head so I can caress her soft warm cheek with it.

Sarah: And I want a dog.- she says confidently, leaning on my palm and leaving a kiss on it.

Y/n: Anything you want. - i smil softly and completely in love with her; and everything she does.

Sarah: Do you promise? - she asks full of hope.

Y/n: I promise.- I answer honestly; knowing that I will do everything in my power to fulfill it.

Sarah: I love you.- she whispers, moving over my body, placing herself completely on top of me and leaving her lips a few centimeters from mine.

Y/n: I love you too, princess.- I whisper, leaning forward and joining our lips.

Our lips move calmly, letting our hands run over each other's naked body with affection and without any other intention than the knowing how much we love each other.

End Flashback

The worst of all was not the blows or the pain; but that I was going to break the promise and fail it. I would never end up fulfilling that promise and it became increasingly clear to me. The fatigue was increasing and the more I let myself be carried away by the darkness that promise gets further away.

The last thing on my mind before everything was complete darkness was the promise and my mental apology to Sarah for not being able to keep it. 

An apology, for not being strong and capable enough to carry out that promise and having failed it in the worst possible ways.

I just hoped that she wouldn't hold a grudge against me, because I know that it would hurt her more and she would suffer longer because of me. 

And that is something I would never forgive myself for. She is too valuable and does not deserve to suffer more than she has already suffered these 16 years.

[sugar-omi]

Ello! Could you do Mornings with Cove, Derek, and Baxter? Fem! MC, plz!

the boys are so sappy n in love w you/mc it's SICK also does anyone else have trouble keeping their bonnet/scarf on bc i don't even bother anymore, n i alrdy tried the hair pins. it worked once n then never again i sleep like a wild animal istg ANYWAY!! enjoy anon! i'm so sorry it took so long<333

tags : Fluff, fem/afab reader (use of girl, ma'am, wife), multiple choice dialogue, every scenario has different tags bc it's easier for me that way👍, newly established relationship (derek/baxter), marrying cove

[scenarios in order of cove>baxter>derek]

synopsis : how you spend your mornings with the boys

tags : step 3 / in between step 3-4, you proposed to cove at the end of summer, eloping, moving in together

you're slow to wake up, rolling over and taking all the sheets with you.

you huff and try to untangle the sheets from under body and around your leg... once you're comfortable enough you pull your dangling pillow back onto the bed.

you reach over for cove, wanting to be close to your new husband.

"cove?" you finally open your eyes and search around the room. it's empty. well, save for the boxes and the new mattress on the middle of the floor where you slept together last night.

before you can call out again you hear some clinking and the sound of a sink running.

begrudgingly, you leave your nest of blankets in search of cove. it was worthless to stay in bed if he wasn't there.

first though you should wash up a bit, moving all those boxes had you so tired and you slept good.

you creep up behind cove, you already know he's heard you, but between the sizzling of the pan and the messy playlist terry oh so graciously made for you two.

determining there's not danger of one of you getting hurt by the hot pan in the case cove flinches, you wrap your arms around cove.

"oh-!" cove tenses up, putting a hand on your arm.

he laughs when you mumble "good morning" into his back, still sleepy and you almost fall asleep with your head leaned against him. cove is so comforting...

"don't fall asleep back there, i'm almost done cooking." cove's voice rumbles through you, disrupting your nodding head.

"mhm..." you slink over to the couch. it's crooked and in the middle of the room, all but thrown haphazardly in the room by the movers.

you blink, watching the trees sway and cars zoom by.

you're not in the heart of the city, but you're certainly not out in the middle of nearly nowhere like sunset bird.

"here ya go." the plate comes into view, startling you from your daydream.

you mumble your thanks, suddenly realizing how hungry you are. the meal is simple enough and made from whatever snacks and foods you took from your parents' house that are signaturely yours, but there's toast on the side and that's all that matters.

you eat in silence, propping up your computer on some boxes and watching a video, and after you're done eating, you continue down the funny animal rabbit hole.

"this is nice." you say suddenly, whispered almost.

"hey, that's my line." cove teases and you two share lazy wolfish grins. "no~, your line is saying that i'm nice." you correct, proving your innocence.

"so i'm not nice?" cove lays out a trap and you willingly fall into it.

"you are nice, very nice." you lean in to steal a peck, to which cove takes more. when you pull away, you can't help but laugh about it, it's cute how cove always wants more affection from you.

"i'm just saying, it's nice to be with you like this." you flush, suddenly aware of how embarrassing this is to admit. "y'know, being married and living together, 'n all that stuff..." you trail off, glancing off to the side as you let cove process what you said with a flustered face.

suddenly, his arms tighten around you and you look up to see him teary eyed.

"i'm happy too!"

you laugh, reaching up to wipe his tears away. "good."

cove sniffles, his voice thick from crying but also from affection. "i really liked waking up to you today, it was.. nice."

cove's blush must have been contagious because you felt your own face get hot. "i can't say the same since you were missing, but it was nice sleeping together. and we get to do it everyday and every night."

cove laugh, looking off to the side from being embarrassed at your admissions. "sorry, i was just so happy i wanted to surprise you in bed, but you got up before i could get back."

you smile, curling your fingers in his hair. "well, we got our whole lives for that."

you could practically see the hearts popping off cove, "will you wait for me to bring you breakfast tomorrow?"

you laugh, "sure cove."

cove puffs up, happy with every second that goes by. "what do you want to eat? we can go out shopping today. i really want to try this new flavor of juice i saw a few days ago, it's strawberry something..." cove rambles and you let him go on, agreeing and adding onto the verbal list.

eventually, cove pulls out his phone to write this down and you whisper, full of tenderness. "we're being domestic again, but it's for real this time since we're living together."

cove squeaks, unable to hide his face since his hands are holding his phone tight, trying not to drop it on you. "w-we are, aren't we?" cove laugh, happy again.

"thank you for agreeing to marry me."

cove blinks at you, surprised before he laughs. "you're doing it again."

"what?!" you sit up, grinning even though you're taking up a stance. "you've said that twice, what's that supposed to mean!"

cove shrugs, leaving you hanging. he hooks his arms around your neck, eyes full of love. "as if i'd ever say no, i mean.. i never really thought about getting married, but... well, i wouldn't marry anyone else."

you blink away tears, leaning down to capture cove in a kiss.

he hums happily, letting you slide your hand up his shirt when you get lost in each others lips before you pull away.

"let's elope."

"wh-what?!" cove scrambles, forcing you to sit up but he can't go anywhere with you on top of his lap.

"elope, let's get eloped." you repeat, suddenly embarrassed.

cove coughs, "right now?!"

you nod before you back track, "i mean.. unless you don't want to! i can wait, i'm just so happy that it came out..."

it's silent for a moment, and cove is trying to get his temperature down before he explodes..

"let's do it."

you snap your neck to look at him, "huh?"

cove is flustered and sweating a bit "let's elope.." he finally looks at you instead of his hands. "i can't wait either, and i mean.. we're going to be husband and wife anyway so, why not..?"

you grin, "okay! um- i'll get ready then." you stop, realizing there's some things that should be done before hand, "oh, maybe we should call our parents?"

cove nods, giving a strained smile. "they're gonna tease us again.."

you take his hand, "thats okay. we'll suffer together." cove pushes your shoulder with his and rolls his eyes.

"yeah, you're right. we got this."

tags : (after) step 4, multiple dialogue choice for poc readers/readers w different hair length/upkeep

you stir, your dream disturbed by someone shuffling and squirming and a hand on your cheek.

slowly letting your dream go, regrettably since it was just getting interesting, and blink sleepily at the mess of black hair beside you.

you groan, turning your head to hide it in the pillow.

"why are you up? it's not even 11 yet..." you grumble, slipping baxter's phone back under the pillow. it must've ended up there somehow after you two fell asleep in the middle of your youtube binge, and until you're ready to get up it'll stay there.

"just admiring you."

you smile, peeking at him. "no way, you're jus' saying stuff."

baxter looks so tender, his hand moving from your cheek to hold your hand. "i'm serious. you're the prettiest girl in the world."

a coy, wolfish smile comes on his face, "even if-

-your hair is sticking up on one side." you fly upright, covering your hair with your hands.

-your hair is kinda sticking up." you fly upright, snatching up your bonnet/scarf that came off in the middle of the night and fixing it.

-you drool in your sleep." you jump, rubbing your mouth to wipe away the tacky spit.

you huff as baxter chuckles away, "sorry i- ack!"

you slap baxter with the pillow, throwing the sheets away and running to the bathroom to wash up. "laugh it up! you're worse than me, y'know?"

baxter finally sits up, showing you his own messy hair do. it's flat on one side. you stifle a cackle.

he gazes at you softly, sleep and love softening his features. "i'm pas' that."

you don't bother closing the bathroom door, knowing baxter is slow on your tail. "you put salt in your coffee yesterday. are ya sure about that?"

you turn on the shower, letting the water warm up while you brush your teeth.

baxter finally comes behind you, wrapping his arms around you and kissing your cheek.

you hum, pleased.

baxter gazes at you through the mirror, addressing you through it. "i love you."

you feel warm, your heart skipping and beating fast at the overwhelming affection from him today. "i love you too."

baxter kisses your cheek, looking up at you through his eyelashes. "so, can i join your shower?"

"only if you behave, pepe-le-pew." you pinch baxter's cheek, grinning at how he scrunches up his face.

while you get ready for the shower, making the water warm enough for the both of you.

usually you take hot showers, but last time baxter turned red so lukewarm would have to do.

usually you take cold showers, but baxter just shook in the corner of the shower before he jumped under some hot water to warm up.

you two take showers together often, this was good bonding time for you two.

"wash my hair for me?" baxter asks, sliding up behind you.

"sure." you switch spots so baxter can get his hair wet. it's a tight fit since this shower isn't meant for two, but you make it work. it was better than the bathtub anyway, that was its own problem...

baxter sits on the stool, something you finally put in since it was straining, having to bend down every time.

"don't get shampoo in my mouth again." baxter cackles, trying not to laugh as you massage the shampoo in his hair.

"that was an accident!" you defend, "and it was your fault! you wouldn't stop laughing and talking while i was washing your hair out!"

"is that so?" baxter's suave voice echos throughout the bathroom. the sound makes you shiver.

"yeah 'that's so'! you play around too much!" you laugh and mock. "now stop talking, i'm gonna wash it out."

baxter willingly shuts his mouth, letting you tip his head back and detach the shower head to wash the shampoo out.

this gives you a good view of his face. truthfully, there are not many times when baxter is quiet, witty and flirty words always coming from his mouth, and his face is always lined with a lazy lopsided smile.

so seeing him like this, with his face relaxed and his shoulders sagging as he lets you work your hands through his hair.

"you can open your eyes now." you wipe baxter's face with your hand to get the water off his face, pushing his hair back.

baxter blinks, getting used to the change of light. he takes the shower head from your hands so he can hold your hand and he smiles, coy and mischievous. "hey there, beautiful, come here often?"

you roll your eyes, ignoring the flush coming over you. "shut up."

baxter laughs, wrapping his arms around your waist and resting his chin on your stomach, watching you.

"what're you looking at?" you feel so flustered from baxter being so soft and tender this morning.

"you." baxter intertwines your fingers. "you're the prettiest girl in the world."

you crumble, leaning over him. "can't you just say 'i love you' like a normal person.."

baxter smiles his signature lopsided grin, "nope." he says, popping the 'p'.

you two sit for a moment in silence, wrapped up in each other.

"i love you too. even though you're silly." you mumble, moving to grab baxter's face.

"i think you're helping me to look silly," he tries to smile but you're squishing his cheeks. "i love you more though."

"as if." you lean down to kiss his forehead, then his nose, which if he could, there'd be a happy tail swinging behind him. before you finally meet his lips, letting him take more than you were going to give.

"okay bax," you laugh, pushing his shoulders. "enough kisses, the waters getting cold."

his loopy, lovesick grin turns wolfish, "i'll warm you up."

baxter starts to trail his hands along your hips, going from sensual to playful as he starts tickling your sides.

you squeal, holding onto his wrists. "stop it!" you squirm, laughter echoing throughout the shower..

tags : (after) step 4, clingy derek, reader can cook, Encanto movie mentioned (that movie SLAPPED), reader gives derek a massage

it would be a meriacle you woke up before derek if it wasn't already coming up to 2pm.

you don't usually get up this late, but you and Derek had been up having fun and watching the sunrise just for the hell of it, that it ended up happening.

you yawn and stretch, looking at the expanse of derek's muscled back as you consider if kts worth getting up or not.

'mm, i could make him breakfast..'

now that was an idea. finally setting that as your goal, you throw off the sheets and manage to creep out the room as quietly and as quickly as possible.

you may not be the next gordon ramsay, but you at least knew your way around the kitchen. so once scrounging up some eggs and vegetables, you set onto making an omelet.

which... is harder than it looks. and the first one isn't instgram worthy for sure. looks like you'll be taking that one...

you start humming to the music you have playing quietly, swaying from side to side in place as you expertly (at least in your opinion) shimmy the spatula under the omlete to flip it.

then, right as you give a small "aha!" at your success, a sleepy, gravelly call of your name comes from the hallway.

"y/n..? where are ya?"

you bristle, looking around the disordered kitchen panicked. "kitchen! don't come in!"

you curse, taking the pan off the stove and turning off the eye quickly as you slide into the hallway. you thank derek's sleepy movement since otherwise he would've found you out already if he wasn't ready to collapse where he stood.

he blinks, rubbing his eyes. "what's going on? you need help?"

you start pushing on his chest. "no! i can handle everything here, so just go to bed, and I'll be right there, okay?"

derek laughs, letting you push him back towards the bedroom, "i mean sure but what're you-"

"nope! no questions! just go back to bed and wait for me. if you come out before i'm ready, a punishment is in order!" you nag, crossing your arms as derek gets back into bed.

"kinky."

you huff and roll your eyes, trying not to show your amusement. being half asleep also turns off half of derek's filter..

you lean over, roughly tucking him in much to his delight. "now stay here." you kiss his head before you run off, shutting the door 3/4ths of the way before you throw it back open to glare at him.

"i mean it."

derek laughs, his eyes droopy again already. "yes ma'am."

you shut the door and skip down the hall, hurrying to fix the rest of your and derek's breakfast before the omletes get cold.

bustling around the kitchen, trying to keep things neat as you go, but the stack of dishes in the sink and fallen egg shell you quickly pick up says there was a disaster happening here.

in the end, though, you find the nicest plates derek has here and a food tray before you plate up the food with care, even cutting and peeling some fruit on the side to go with your choice of yogurt or oatmeal, before making your way to the bedroom, humming.

you're happy you got to do something nice for derek, even though it almost went up in ruins a few times. be it from derek almost walking in, the questionably shaped omelet, or almost getting orange juice in your eye when peeling.

you somehow balance the tray well enough to open the door, and before you can give a loud and playfully formal announcement that food is ready, you realize derek is asleep.

he looks so serene, arm stretched out on your side of the bed and the sunlight hitting his back nicely.

you smile, creeping up and sitting the tray down carefully. equally as careful, you ease yourself onto the bed, petting derek's hair as you debate waking him up or not.

you push his hair off his forehead. his hair feels and looks so different when it's not gelled up in his signature style, he still looks handsome like this though, maybe even more-so.

"mmm, tha' you y/n?" derek takes your hand out of his hair and into his, loosely holding your hand.

"yeah. i made you breakfast but if you're too tired we can eat later." you kiss his hand.

derek hums, a dopey smile coming on his face. "i could eat." derek sits up, stretching with a groan and slumping against the pillows, trying to wake himself up.

you present the tray, popping the legs and situation it between you two so you can eat as well.

"oh that's so sad, he just wants to eat with his family.." you fret, absent-mindedly playing with derek's hair.

derek hums, mumbling something.

you look down at him, thinking derek looks like an sleepy pup that thinks he's still a lap dog. derek is much bigger than when you guys were kids, something you still can't get used to some days.

"you falling asleep?" you push his hair back, showing derek's droopy eyes.

he squirms, still keeping his arms wrapped around your waist. "no.." derek yawns, burying his face into your stomach.

you laugh, tugging on little strands of derek's hair, that elicit a low, gravelly hum from him.

"okay, tell me if you want anything." you lean down, trying to kiss derek but the position just strains your neck and back.

derek looks up, peaking at you and smiling when he sees your pouty lips. he leans up, holding the back of your head as he gives you a few soft kisses that he can't help but smile through.

you smile back at him. "lay down with me.." derek purrs, his voice hoarse with sleep.

"i'm trying to watch the movie!" you laugh, derek already pulling you down the bed so you can lay with him.

"and you can watch it from my arms." derek snuggles into your neck, kissing the back of your neck which makes you shiver and laugh.

at some point near the end of the movie you ended up falling asleep, much to your disappointment.

you smack your lips, "dang it..." you fumble for the remote in the sheets, finding it at the end of the bed, only saved by the foot board.

while you start rewinding the movie, derek walks back in.

you perk up, scooting towards the edge of the bed. "derek!" your voice is thick with sleep and your head feels cloudy still from dreamland but seeing derek makes you feel a bit excited.

"you're awake." derek comes to your side, rubbing the towel over his head. you hum, "did you fall asleep too?" you prop yourself on your knees to help derek dry off, "i slept through the ending..." you pout.

derek laughs, "we can watch it together. do you think we can start over? i wasn't paying attention earlier..." derek admits sheepishly.

you nod, then realize derek probably didn't see you before he turned around so you said yes.

while derek looks for clothes you respond to lee's spam texts about something or other.

you're in the middle of typing out another response to respond to your cousins fangirling when derek groans and sighs.

derek slumps over, rubbing his neck.

"you okay, baby?"

derek startles a bit, turning to look at you sheepishly. "yeah, i'm fine."

you roll your eyes and send a quick "brb" text before throwing the phone somewhere on the bed. "no you're not. are you stiff? sore?"

derek comes closer to you, kneeling on the rug so he can hug your waist. "a bit.. guess i've been going to hard on arm day." you both laugh.

"yeah, i don't think those guns need to het any bigger." you laugh, curling your fingers in his hair. "oh! how about i give you a massage?"

derek looks at you with wide eyes, "you can do that?"

you shrug. "i'm not a professional, but it might help. do you want me to?" derek nods, a bit too enthusiastic, which makes him blush and clear his throat. "if you don't mind.."

you shake your head and push derek's shoulders so you can stand up, "not at all, wait here.."

it takes a moment to find the lotion, a con of having moved into a new place: everything is in an odd place.

you don't keep any oil or anything like that that would be more appropriate, so this would have to do.

derek is a bit awkward at first, but once you put on some music for yourself so you can focus, derek starts watching the animal tiktok's your friends were spamming in the group chat, occasionally apologizing for his laughter making your body bounce.

you're happy and share a few laughs and idle conversations between the two of you. you don't really know what you're doing, and mostly following a few tips from online.

derek sighs, sinking into the mattress. "that's good..."

your hands smooth over his back, spreading the lotion down to the small of his back and kneading a bit.

satisfied now that derek looks relaxed and you've done the best you can to make your lover feel better, you lean over to kiss the back of his neck. "there you go, baby."

derek hums, and you move around to lay beside him. "thank you. i feel so much better." derek nuzzles into your neck, wrapping his arms around you and pulling you in.

you laugh at derek's clinginess, wrapping your arms around his back as well. "i'm glad, i wasn't really sure what i was doing."

derek starts peppering kisses all over your face, both of you smiling and laughing.

eventually, derek pulls away, having flipped you over and is gazing down at you, his eyes full of love and are a bit glassy. "thanks for taking care of me today. you're amazing..."

you reach up to cup his cheeks, "you're worth it, you need to be taken care of."

derek laughs, tears gathering on his lashes. he tucks his face into your neck, completely wrapping his body around your own. "i love you so much."

you brighten, surprised but happy with derek's declaration. that's the first time either of you have said the L-word.

"i love you too, derek."

[squibeearts]

Good Omens Appreciation Post!

Just popping in to say that I absolutely adore Good Omens with all my heart and it has changed my life in so many ways! I have never thought I'd still be this obsessed with the show ever since I discovered it summer of last year! Ever since I first learned about Doctor Who and then going down a David Tennant rabbit hole, only to discover lovely video edits, and fanart of Good Omens, then finding out S2 was soon coming out, I was immediately hooked.

I would like to still claim that I'm a relatively new fan, especially when there are fans who have been around since the book first came out (I've even found out there are fans as old as 80!).

Needless to say, though I may not have been in the fandom very long, nor do I know as much as the more devoted fans do, I would still like to do my part in sharing this wonderful world

In honor of the recently launched 31 Days of Good Omens* I'd like to challenge myself to post everyday this month 1 thing I like about Good Omens

I'm calling it,

31 Things I Love About Good Omens

yes, i know I'm very creative :)

I would like to begin today by having this as the master post for each of the days I plan to participate in.

AND it would mean the world to me if more people to participate as well. Either by reblogging and adding more of what they like about the specific topic chosen for the day, or making you're own list of all the things you love!

But always bring the attention back to the main point of 31 Days of Good Omens* and using the appropriate hashtags for the event! Which are: #goodomens, #31DOGO and #31DaysOfGoodOmens

This is all meant help spread the word of Good Omens in hopes that Prime will see us and our love of the show and our Ineffables! So that they will continue with S3 and give us the ending we are all waiting for.

This is also in hopes of bringing us together and stronger as the Good Omens community!

Feel free to join us, and share the love!

Love you, you wonderful people,

~ Squibee

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*31 Days of Good Omens is a campaign started by the Youtuber and Good Omens Theorist Sendarya, who is also doing free weekly give-away's along with the event, just click the link attached to the name and I'll leave the link to the website. Both video and website go over the details and different activities that are happening during the month. All of this is meant to call for the attention of the creators and creatives behind Good Omens, saying we are here! And we want season 3!

Website & Video

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Day 1 🌟 Day 2

Well, I’ve been terrible at this, there’s only to so far but I’ll update when I can 😀 so far this is just all I have

[winterspiderpurrs]

Pepper sighed as she exited the elevator to head toward the lab. About two hours ago, she received the notification she and Rhodey set up several years ago. Rhodey was already en route to the tower. Should be here in the next twenty minutes.

When the doors slid open to the lab, she found Tony sitting in a chair, hand deep into a robot, but his focus was on a projected screen in front of him. Looks like he was reading paged of book. When he tilts his head a certain way, the pages turn.

" Tony. What are you doing?"

" Nothing. Just reading"

" Uh huh. Then why did Friday notify me that you unblocked Peter's on the server"

" Hey! Big tattle tell Friday! Don't worry about it, Pep. It's been a while, and I heard from Brucie that Peter published another paper. And I just wanted to read it. "

" Don't start this up again Tony. You go down this rabbit hole its going to be like before"

" Have faith Pepper! I'm just reading a paper, I'm not asking him out."

" Again?"

Tony swirls around in his chair and faces Pepper.

" I can control myself!"

" Said that the last 3 times. This time isn't going to work. Just leave him be Tony"

" It's not going to be anything! His idea to use some nano tech in closing wounds is intriguing, but we would have to test that out. Lots more research. I could get a grant for him to explore it. "

" Tony!"

Pepper stomps her foot to get his attention before he goes off on a tangent. This is how it always goes with Peter and Tony.

See Tony met Peter when Peter was 18 and was doing a summer internship at the tower. They hit it off and started a whirlwind romance. And that's how it went.

Things would be great, then Peter would ask for more, and Tony would break up with him. They separate for a while. Peter does something that draws Tony back in, and they try to be friends and end up where they started.

It's not like Tony doesn't know that Peter knows himself in the ways of science. But it came to the relationship? The long haul? Tony wanted that, but Peter was just so young, so he kept pushing him away.

They have been doing this song and dance for years. The last break up was a year and a half ago.

And Peter left without a fuss this time. Simply packed up his bags, told Tony to stop contacting him til he grows up and figures out what he wants. But not wait for him cause he was absolutely done.

The doors open to the lab again and Rhodey walks out.

" i don't smell alcohol so Tony is still sober. Whats the emergency Pepper"

" PGMATDK Protocol "

" Shit okay. "

Tony blinks.

" Hey! Only I'm allowed to have acronyms!"

"Sure Tones. But brace yourself."

"What?"

Pepper sighs and looks to Rhodey before back to Tony.

" You've read just Peter's papers. Haven't researched into him again correct?"

Tony frowned and looked between the two.

" No just his published work..."

" Well I'm sorry that this is coming out but...Peter got married"

Tony stares at them before standing up and pacing.

" We have only been broken up a year and a half? When? To who? "

Tony spins around to look at them.

" Tell me it wasn't to that Strange guy"

" No he didn't marry Dr. Strange, someone else about a month ago.

Tony stares at them again before sitting down. Rhodey comes to stand next to him and puts his hand on his shoulder.

" I'm sorry Tony..."

They stayed like for a while before Tony whispered.

" Does he seem happy?"

" Don't open that box Tony. But... he does... yes."

Later that night Tony was looking up the photos.

[mayusteapot]

I'm thoroughly enjoying reading everyone's thoughts and analyses about the first chapter. I'm not a new reader, a rather seasoned one, as I used to read the books three times during every summer vacation between the ages 9 and 19. I'm now 41, so it's been a while, and I've never read the books in their original language but the Finnish translation. I did start once but got caught comparing the translation to the original which was endlessly fascinating.

I did study English language and translation as a major in university, so I'm supposed to be both familiar with the language and analysing texts, but I find it really hard to get to this mindset around these books. The emotional load is such that looking at them objectively is totally out of the question, so instead I'm going to lean into it.

What jumps out at me are the colours in this chapter. It's mostly filled with dark hues (as opposed to the start of eg. Anne, which is covered in pale apple blossoms and sunset), even most of the magical elements are very untame and ethereal in their aspects. And yet there's a glimpse of the pinky-green sky around the new moon. It's very much setting us up for a darker tale, and yet there are slivers of light in it too.

Nature plays such a big part in this chapter. Even the house looks like it wasn't built but grew like a mushroom. Everywhere Emily looks she seems to see shapes of nature, slightly twisted and a bit gnarled. Even Saucy Sal (best cat ever) is like something from a Tim Burton film. Wait. The other way around, surely.

The first and last paragraph of the text do seem pleasantly (and tragically) elliptical in this chapter. Assuming Ellen pities Emily because her father is dying. It's like everything between those two paragraphs builds for us this slightly mystical world from Emily's point of view, and then rips it away from her with that last line.

I also found interesting how Emily's attitude to god and religion is also very apparent from the start. Her views are very individualistic, and she sees it as very personal, as opposed to communal. [At this point the writer of this post fell into a deep deep rabbit hole about the Presbyterian faith, Calvinism and so on. It will take a while to dig all the way through, so ending here for now.]

[greenerteacups]

I’m not sure if you’ve specifically answered this before, but how long did it take you to outline, research, and prepare the foundational meat of Lionheart since it’s such a sprawling saga with threads for so many characters? Did you have it all mapped out before you started writing? What about shorter pieces like The Climb and the latest, delightful The Death Eater Diaries?

The series outline for Lionheart I wrote on one bleary, rabbit-hole of a day in the summer of 2022 when I was definitely supposed to be doing something else, and after that, each book took me between 3 days and 2 weeks to outline completely. The later books have taken longer because of their length and the number of threads — the series has a way of getting wider as well as longer, and for the last two books, I sometimes got a bit grumbly about how many characters pop up in every novel. As for research, most of that will happen before or during the outlining process; I'll have a copy of the book on-hand to check plot details, but for the most part I try to work without flipping back to the text, to avoid copying beats or stylistic choices unless I have a thematic reason to. I also use HP Lexicon and fanwikis while I'm editing for content, though when I'm drafting I make a real effort not to switch out of the tab for any reason, because it breaks flow. I'm sure I have missed some details despite my references, but c'est la vie; JKR had to do continuity edits in subsequent edition releases for several books, so at least I'm not alone.

For The Climb, I wrote the first chapter in the raw, then went through and blocked out the second two in an outline at the bottom of the document. Very very broad strokes there — TC is different from Lionheart because it's a slice-of-life tone piece, so there's not as much plot to be done. It's a novella conceived for the sole purpose of exploring one particular relationship, so the plot came secondary to the things I wanted to highlight about how that dynamic worked. It's a character-forward piece, to borrow culinary terminology, and outlining for character is a lot easier than outlining for plot. (For me.)

The Death Eater Diaries emerged almost fully-formed from a Tumblr post I made joking about the sort of ludicrously awful decade Narcissa experiences. The hardest part of outlining was nailing down canonical dates. Stuff like how old Andromeda was when she got pregnant, when Bellatrix got married, when the members of the previous generation died, all that's unspecified — but it's also all functionally constrained to a narrow window of time, if you take in where the characters are at certain other parts of the story, so you can't just say anything. It was very fun to write, though. Doing so also stressed how hilariously short the timeline on the Black family collapse actually is. Between 1971 and 1981, they go from a two-branch family with an heir, a spare, and three healthy daughters -> completely extinct in the male line, two of its descendants disinherited, two imprisoned, one missing, presumed dead, and Draco Malfoy's mom.

[aihoshiino]

Do you think Ai knows how to swim? Totally out of the blue ask I came up with when I was looking back at all the swimsuit Ai collabs we had (or even the Aqua Floats figure coming soon). Maybe she was taught in school?

This ask sent me down a little bit of a rabbit hole cos I was like "swimming is part of compulsory education, right? there's so many scenes of swimming class in all kinds of anime…" then I realized that basing my understanding of the Japanese curriculum off of half-remembered anime episodes from the early to mid 2000s was probably not the best way to approach this so I did a lil research… there be some dusty old PDFs in my downloads now as a result…

From what I can tell, swimming lessons are part of compulsory education in Japan with exceptions for if the school doesn't have the facilities for it - but even then, there's expectations for kids to be taught about basic water safety and that kind of thing. When it starts and how long it lasts also seems to be a thing that differs from place to place around the country but from what I could tell, it typically happens over a few months in summer year by year, starting in elementary and going up to high school. So at the very least, it should have been part of her education.

HOWEVER……!!! There's a few stumbling blocks here!

The first is that we know based on what Kaburagi says about her in volume 4 that Ai used to live out in the country and that's supported by the general environment in 131 when Aqua goes to visit Ayumi. So it's likely she went to one of those schools where they didn't have the facilities to have full swim lessons. Not only that, but parents have to be the ones who let their kids' school know they'll be taking part in swim lessons and provide their kids' equipment and, uh... well, the less said about Ayumi Hoshino, Mother of The Year (derogatory), the better.

So I'm gonna say she's not a very strong swimmer...! In fact, I'll go ahead and indulgently project a bit and say she had my experience of getting unexpectedly dunked, getting scared of water as a result and none of the teachers really bothered to help her through it because they had like 20 other kids to wrangle... that feels pretty right for her.

It's cute to imagine her & Aqua & Ruby all learning to swim together, though... Ai clinging for life to a cute floatie while the kids cheer her on.... she'd do her best!!!

[bedlamsbard]

Tagged by @windona!

1. How did you get into writing fanfiction?

I genuinely have no idea, it was too long ago. (2001/2002)

2. How many fandoms have you written in?

I've dabbled in a number of fandoms, but my big three have been the MCU, Star Wars, and Narnia, with a reasonable amount of writing time in BSG, CSI:NY, Miracle, and HP, and there have been bits and bobs elsewhere, sometimes as crossovers, sometimes not. (I actually used to do a lot of crossovers.)

3. How many years have you been writing fanfiction?

SOME. probably like 22.

4. Do you read or write more fanfiction?

Write. By and large I don't read in my writing fandoms, and since I'm pretty monofannish in general, it means I don't tend to read much fanfic anymore. I'll occasionally go down rabbit holes of old fandoms or occasionally particular authors (I went down a Smallville rabbit hole about a month ago), but these days I don't read much. My reading fandoms have tended to be fandoms that I was familiar with but wasn't inclined to write in back in the day (10-15 years ago), and I don't really pick up new reading fandoms these days for whatever reason. The MCU was one of my longest-running reading fandoms and it messes me up that I can't read in it anymore, because it's now a writing fandom, and all the stuff I used to be able to read pings as wrong to my brain.

5. What is one way you’ve improved as a writer?

Execution and discipline. I have always been a cast of thousands/complex plot writer, but for a long time I just didn't really have the skill level to execute it really well -- Dust in the Air is the most dramatic example. Part of it is also that I didn't really know when to rein myself in, and that's something I've worked really hard on. (Even Gambit's guilty of this, though by that point I was better at it.) I'm a lot better now at not only knowing what can be done but actually, you know, doing it.

6. What’s the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

I've researched some unbelievably weird stuff, I don't know what counts as weird anymore. Most of it has been for the MCU, since that's real world (give or take) and I try to be as accurate as possible, especially with something like Home where it's historical. Like, I looked up boxed cereal the other day to figure out when it had been invented, pre or post WWII. (Pre, but the idea of it as a kids' breakfast came post.) I've looked up so much about WWII-era engagement rings. The infamous "WWII essentially invented the men's wedding ring" thing. So much spy stuff. (I'm haunted by the fact that there's an inaccuracy in Home because I didn't realize at least one term was Cold War era and wasn't used in WWII.) Everything about special operations and spies in WWII was more batshit than the last thing. I watched WWII hand-to-hand combat training videos so that Peggy's fighting style would be 1940s-appropriate vs. 2010s-appropriate. I dug through online archives of newspaper headlines for the exact dates of the events in Home (those are almost all real headlines!). I went through War Department ID cards so that Natasha's would be more or less accurate. For Horizon I spent so, so long looking at summer of 2020 photos and blog posts so I could get the post-apocalyptic deserted Midtown vibe just right. (Also, like, horrifying that that's a thing you can just look up since we lived through it!) I watched escalator videos of people riding the escalator up from Grand Central into the MetLife building so that the scene of the Avengers going up the escalator in Stark Tower would be accurate. I looked up elevator enthusiast blogs to figure out how the Stark Tower elevators were likely to work. I went and walked around my own campus to plot out the geography and choreography of the Atlanta fight in Horizon, and then looked up pictures of the dorm rooms in the building where Natasha and the Hulk-Widow fight so that the furniture would be accurate. (Couldn't get into the actual building and the way it's laid out I couldn't look in the windows, even when it was empty for summer.)

7. What’s your favorite type of comment to receive on your work?

Thoughtful ones about the details of the story, whether those are plot details or character details -- the "I never thought about it before, but of course Steve drowned" or the effect that the characters have on the environment or the characters around them, or the "wait, is this the thing from XYZ?" kind of comments.

I have a policy of not responding to comments unless they're direct questions, and sometimes not even then, but I do read all of them.

8. What’s the most fringe trope/topic you write about?

buddy I write Infinity War AUs in one of the biggest IPs in the world, I'm not sure what in here is fringe. lol.

that aside, I don't think I've seen another fic writer who's as interested as I am in dealing with the post-Snap period. I'm sure they're out there, I obviously can't read in this fandom anymore, but this is the period of the MCU I'm most interested in and it doesn't seem to be a really common one. (which is kind of understandable post-2020, tbh, but Horizon was my way of dealing with all of that.)

uh, less macro than that -- probably the most fringe topic is my intense interest in worldbuilding Asgardian law, particularly vis a vis inheritance.

9. What is the hardest type of story for you to write?

I can't write short fic so I don't even try.

10. What is the easiest type?

"Easy" isn't really the best word here, but my default is 80-350K complex plot with a cast of thousands and intense relationship between 2-3 of the main characters. A long time ago I trained myself into being able to come up with long-form plot relatively easily, which is a great life skill if you want to write long-form plot, which I do. That is my default, which is why it's the easiest; aside from concept writing it's the only thing I write, and the concept writing is me playing with whether I should get to this point.

11. Where do you do your writing? What platform? When?

I am a Microsoft Word purist; I do it exclusively on my laptop, at home unless I'm traveling. I used to write on campus a lot; I don't do it anymore, though there are various reasons for that.

12. What is something you’ve been too nervous/intimidated to write, but would love to write one day?

The honest answer is the third Ouroboros story, All Along the Watchtower, which I did get scared out of writing years ago. Would I love it to be written? Yes. Is it likely to ever happen? No. The other, similar answer, is the rewrite of the Dust in the Air, which kind of hits the "intimidation" point because I would have to completely rewrite it. Would I love to do that? Sure. Is it going to ever happen? Probably not. Anything I write I expect to spend a couple of years on, so if I get intimidated out of it, it's simply not going to happen.

13. What made you choose your username?

I have been bedlamsbard for many many years -- the name comes from Mercedes Lackey's Bedlam's Bard series, which I was very fond of at the time. (I was also a flute player at the time, like Eric Banyon.) IIRC, I was also trying to figure out what would be symphonic enough to be memorable, especially because this was back in the days when your username was your name, it almost never changed. The double B in Bedlamsbard followed a few other well-known fen who had similar patterns. It doesn't seem to be common anymore. (There are one or two places on the internet where I still have a pre-Bedlam username, and I have another username I use when I don't necessarily want my fannish username associated because my real name is attached.)

I don't tag people, but go for if you like!

[prince-liest]

I've become obsessed with perfume so I'm going to ramble about it on my blog to my captive audience, as you do. Sorry to anyone who is here for consistent fandom posting, but I do warn people in my sidebar. :'))

I've worn V&R Flowerbomb as my go-to fancy "I'm an adult who wears PERFUME now!" perfume after my dad gifted me a large 100mL bottle (and eventually a 50mL refill for a later birthday) of it... probably around 2014 or 2015? It's a nice, popular fragrance and Russian people consider perfume and cologne to be a standard thing to use, so it made me feel very nice about myself. I also had a 10mL vial of Banana Republic's Rosewood as an evening scent, which I recently googled and realized is very inexpensive for how much I enjoyed the smell of it, but I haven't seen it in a couple of years.

I know I used to think Flowerbomb was very warm and sweet and flowery, but at some point in the past few years I started basically tasting it in the back of my throat in an unpleasant, scrapey way, so with 25mL of it left in my last bottle, I decided to get a new perfume! And promptly fell down the r/fragrance rabbit hole.

Anyway, I've made three trips to two different Sephoras to stand around sniffing perfume until I go nose-blind and nauseated.

THE RESULTS (aka. I'm very vanilla, but Not Like That):

YSL Black Opium Over Red: An evening or cold-season scent that made me want to autocannibalize my own arm when I tried it out on myself. I've read that the original Black Opium is a very popular scent, but in my opinion it was missing something fruity or fresh, and the Over Red flanker's cherry note is exactly what it needed. I thought I liked floral perfumes more than gourmands but it turns out that I'm just a sucker for vanilla. I bought this for full freaking retail price because apparently it's a 2024 release. I guess I'm trendy now.

MJ Daisy Eau So Intense: A sweet honey-strawberry perfume for a spring or summer day that makes me want to go eat a pear. There are a lot of fruity-floral perfumes out there, but this one stood out and wrapped its strawberry-and-pear scented fingers into my grey matter when I first tried it and made me think of childhood summer vacation. This also has base notes of vanilla, though I wouldn't have been able to identify that without looking it up. Thankfully, this one I was able to get at something like 60% off retail price.

Burberry Her Elixir: Berries, jasmine, amber. This is the daily-wear all-arounder I was looking for to actually replace my Flowerbomb. It's suitable for any time of year or day, as long as I spray it somewhere I can smell it all the time because otherwise I'm going to be that weirdo sniffing their own wrist constantly. It is also the final nail in the "Yeah, okay, I'm obsessed with vanilla" coffin because it turns out that's in this one, too. (And the final nail in the coffin of my wallet because this one also wasn't available from discounters.) Also, the atomizer on this one is flawless.

Anyway, now I smell very nice all of the time. I might get one more if I can find a very rose-scented perfume that has vanilla in it instead of smelling like the color green if it was wet, but otherwise I feel like I'm set!

[alltimefail-sims]

"📩 Simblr question of the day: according to you, what are the most underutilized gameplay features in the sims games you played, dlc included?"

Sharing the SQOTD from @simblr-question-of-the-day. I really liked this question because I'm excited to get more gameplay ideas.

Also, you talked about being busy recently so good luck with everything you are working on!

Yes I have been bit busier lately than I've been in a tick, but that's because I'm trying to be better about working on the book I'm writing!! But please continue to send asks and such, I'm still here and active just posting my own content a bit slower - but I'm still active and lurking about!

As for underutilized gameplay features...

I think the Club feature from Get Together is a really underutilized feature in the Sims. @sojutrait actually has a great guide up on their page that explains how clubs can be used for a more custom, immersive, hands-on gameplay experience.

I also think people don't realize how much fun the sales tables can be: I love doing "yard sales" to get rid of stuff in my sims home (for realistic gameplay), I love creating community lots filled with those sales tables to create a farmer's market/small community festival feel, and I love using them for my free-spirited, rancher, farmer, and homesteader sims specifically so they can sell their goods and rely on that income solely! Also you can create better custom food booths now with Home Chef Hustle and you can build a "food truck" OR like a pop-up ice cream stand at the park, for example. Idk it's just a fun feature to me, and exciting for those who don't think any of the rabbit-hole jobs suit their sim (or for those who want more flexibility in their sims' income without having to buy a whole ass additional community lot business).

The handiness skill as a whole is a gamechanger because of the "upgrade object" feature. The upgrades are actually super helpful and many of them will improve the functionality of the given object, will give custom moodlets, and will even help avoid disaster (fireproofing your dryer in the sims is a must... that shit catches fire if you look at it the wrong way lmaoooo).

The robotics skill is really cool and I love making the servos!! Cute little robot friend/family member and they can help around the house (crucial when you have big families, fun if you're going for a futuristic vibe or eccentric household).

Occults, in my opinion, are an underrated feature of the Sims. I think everyone should add some kind of weird, campy, supernatural shenanigans to their gameplay. Have your sim fall in love with a ghost; have your sim accidentally get bitten by a werewolf or vampire; befriend a mermaid; build a rocket in your backyard and go to space; get abducted and raise an alien; the possibilities are endless! Occults can shake shit up, especially if you're tired of vanilla, realistic gameplay.

FAMILY VACATIONS!!! HONEYMOONS!! FRIEND TRIPS!!! I love taking my sims on vacation and taking photos, making memories, etc. This feature is great too because you can get extended family members to go on vacation with your household and then it'll be a little family reunion (and you'll get moodlets for this as well that are like "The whole family is together" or something like that, it's really cute!). I think because you can literally travel to anywhere at any time without using the vacation feature this becomes really under-utilized, but it's a fun little thing to do!

Custom summer vacation holiday with seasons: depending on your lifespan/how you have your calendar days set up you can make it lasts a few days, a whole week, or even two weeks (so the kids can be off school during that time - I do one week in my saves). I just make the "mandatory events" swimming, grilling, spending time with family, stuff like that! Some days I literally have no mandatory events lol, just a day off school!

Honestly that's all I've got off the top of my head: I use a lot of mods and always have, so it can be hard for me to isolate what is a modded feature and what is just a part of the game itself! I hope one or more of these can help you spice your gameplay up a bit! Thank you for this question as always!!! <3

[bunbeeplays]

Ophelia uses her next paycheck to buy a violin, since she knows the Laurents expect her to be decent at it before she can work for their wedding band. She's not exactly a natural. Her ears are relieved when Libby invites her to hang out with her and the BFFs

The weather is terrible, but this Garden and Cafe that Libby invited Ophelia to is pretty cool. They're the first to arrive.

Ophelia: Did you get a makeover?

Libby: We were actually just on Dream Home Decorator! The host said we had to to be on TV.

Ophelia: Harsh

Travis is the next to show up. He seems weirdly nervous but the girls' lively conversation perks him back up.

Ophelia learns that the BFFs have known each other since elementary school. How do you make friends in a rabbit hole, Ophelia wonders?

Libby eventually wanders off to shop, leaving Travis and Ophelia alone.

Ophelia: So Libby told me this place has amazing pie.

Travis: The best. It's up in the second cafe.

Ophelia: Second cafe? Whoever built this place went all out!

Ophelia: Wow, you ate your slice before I even sat down.

Travis: Sorry, I'm just a little nervous.

Ophelia: About what?

Travis: ...Maybe after you're done we should talk someplace more comfortable. And better lit.

Travis: I think there's a real connection here, something that I haven't felt in a long time. I... I wanted to ask you... to be my best friend.

Ophelia: ...what?

Travis: ...Yeah. Y'know, best buddies. Super amigos... A third thing.

Ophelia: This is literally the second time we've met. You've known Summer and Libby since you were kids. Don't you think that's kind of insulting to them?

Travis gets up, very PO'ed.

Travis: You barely even thought about it before you clicked the No Way option! My parents met, fell in love, and got married in 8 hours and you won't even be my best friend after two days?

The woman was too stunned to speak.

Travis: It's not even what I was originally going to ask you, but now I'm glad I didn't.

Ophelia: Well, what WERE you going to ask?

Travis: ...Forget it. I was just trying to be nice to someone who's new in town. See you around.

Ophelia: ...Okay.

By the time Ophelia gets downstairs, Travis is gone. She doesn't know what to do... so she steals an entire pastry display. Not the best coping mechanism, girly.

Right after swiping, Summer runs in!

Ophelia: It was gone when I got here!

Summer ignores her.

Summer: OMW, what happened?! I just saw Travis storm off! Did him asking you out go that badly?

Ophelia: Wh-What are you talking about?

Summer: I've never seen him that upset! Couldn't you at least have let him down a little more nicely like I did with your brownies?

Ophelia: Summer, I don't know what you're talking about! Travis didn't ask me out. He asked me to be his best friend.

Summer: ...he what.

Ophelia: I swear, I had no idea he felt that way. He's never even done a romance interaction with me.

Summer: Oh My Watcher, that dummy. All last night he kept going on and on like "I'm really going to do it this time, I'm not going to chicken out like I did with Alex Moyer!"

Ophelia: I didn't mean to hurt his feelings.

Summer: He hurt his own feelings by being a goober. He has to learn to say what's on his mind. I'll talk to him later, calm him down. I don't want things to be weird between all of us.

Maybe Summer wasn't so bad after all.

I forgot to mention along with the pastry display, Ophelia also stole a whole sign from the cafe, lol

They're not worth much, so she keeps them for decoration considering she couldn't afford any when she first moved to Willow Creek. Maybe one day she can steal a decent TV.

Ophelia also treats herself to a non-stolen speaker, so the music-loving Sim can make housework a little more fun.

It was getting too quiet, but alas, that's the life of a single, first generation Sim.

[so-silly]

Rabbit Traps..

a Stolkien one-shot

this is based off an animation made by marjoriestotch

____________________________

During a rather warm summer afternoon, Tolkien and Steve were stepping out of Steve's work truck, grabbing a couple boxes of food they had bought at a local farmers market. When they had gotten inside, Steve set the boxes he had grabbed down, opening the back door to check on his yard while Tolkien put away the fruits and vegetables into their fridge. When Steve started closing the back door, he and Tolkien could hear a faint shaking coming from a chicken wire fence. At that moment, both knew exactly what was going on.

"God damnit, another rabbit dug under the fence." Steve, Tolkien's father, sighed in frustration.

"Have you considered putting up the traps we bought like weeks ago?" Tolkien replied to his dad, looking down at the hole dug under their lazily put in fences.

"I'm not totally sure how to do that. Think you can ask Randy's son Stan to help? I'm sure he or his father knows how."

"I don't think Randy would want to help us."

"But his son would."

"Okay okay, I'll go bother Stan." Tolkien playfully rolled his eyes.

20 minutes later, Tolkien was in a more…barnyard attire, walking towards the farm next door to his dad's. After following the short path towards the neighboring farm, he stepped up towards the door and knocked a couple times, double checking to see if Randy's truck was parked outside. After waiting for a couple of seconds, Tolkien watched as the door slowly creaked open, presenting a Stan Marsh in skull pj pants, no top, and messy hair.

"Oh hey Tolkien. What time is it??" Stan groggily asked.

"Hey Stan! it's like 3 in the afternoon." Tolkien laughed a little, showing Stan his phone screen.

"Oh shit I didn't realize how late it was. Well anyways, come in. I'm gonna get dressed, you can do whatever."

Stan closed the door behind Tolkien, running up the stairs to change. When he came back, he was in some baggy jeans, a 'stone temple pilots' band teeshirt, a grunge flannel, and black converse. Of course wearing his iconic beanie, even though the weather didn't call for a winter hat.

"So why'd you come over?" Stan asked Tolkien who was sitting on the couch playing on his phone with a can of Sprite sitting on a coaster designed to match the coffee table.

"A bunch of rabbits have been breaking into our yard and eating our plants or just digging holes everywhere. Me and my dad have no clue how to set up the traps we got, so I was hoping you could help..?"

"Oh for sure!! Me and my dad have been setting those up around our yard too. That's probably why they moved onto your yard."

"Awesome! Thanks!"

Tolkien got up from the couch, putting his phone in his pocket and grabbing the sprite he yoinked from Randy's mini fridge, following Stan outside of the door.

"Okay, so basically you need to prop this piece of the door up after placing the rabbit treats at the end, what's supposed to happen is the traps hood falls down when they touch the food, triggering the…Tolkien, are you listening?" Stan paused his far too specific instructions.

When he looked up, he saw Tolkien staring straight at him, a bright but small smile. The sun was shining down on his face, eyes, and hair. The view was absolutely beautiful and both Stan and Tolkien had a hot red blush on their faces.

"Uhm oh yeah, I'm, I'm listening."

"Tolkien, I don't want to re-explain what I just said.."

"Then don't."

Tolkien then ducked down towards Stan. Both of them staring at each other for a couple of seconds. Tolkien began to lean in before Stan turned away, unassembling the trap.

"Okay then prove you listened."

"Are you teasing me right now?" Tolkien dramatically gasped.

"Hypothetically."

"Stop using big words, Stan."

"Make me."

Tolkien turned to the same angle Stan was facing and began to kiss him. Their lips moving rhythmically with each other. Their kiss had lasted at least a minute before Tolkien broke it to breathe. The two once again smiled at each other, Stan looking way more flustered than he had before. Tolkien, on the other hand, giving a more confident and smirky look.

Panicked and nervous, Stan turned back towards the traps, and began fumbling with it, tripping over his own fingers.

"Okay, stop getting distracted. We need to get this done before my dad gets home and flips his shit because I'm hanging out with you."

"Haha, okay then. Work now kiss later?" Tolkien grinned.

"Of course." Stan smiled with a toothy ah grin towards Tolkien, bumping his thigh onto Tolkien's and getting back to building the traps.

[someinstant]

I was tagged by @bright-thorn in a quick get-to-know-you game, and what the heck. I've got time before a meeting, so let's do this!

Tag nine (9) people you'd like to know better!

Last song: "Doo Wop (That Thing)," Ms. Lauryn Hill. Today was our first day back in the classroom for pre-planning, and I have a million things I need to do before I have kiddos in front of me on August 1st. And because one of the things I have to do is check transcripts for all of my rosters-- gotta make sure that my seniors aren't missing any graduation requirements, gotta keep an eye out for ELL and 504 and IEP and gifted services, gotta check that no new transfers have duplicate credits, or aren't placed correctly-- I was working my way through a lot of old favorites today as background music. Stuff that would keep me awake and focused so I wouldn't miss anything critical-- and that I knew well enough for it to not be distracting. So The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill fit the bill and was my last selection of the day.

Currently reading: Oh, like four different things. The City of Brass, by S.A. Chakraborty, which I started reading ages ago and then got distracted by life, so I've started over. A Memory Called Empire, by Arkady Martine, which I started reading during the early summer of 2020 and absolutely adored-- and then both my parents needed major surgeries within the same week, and a week later my gallbladder gave out on me-- and in the chaos and haze of am-I-dying-or-is-my-gallbladder-infected, I couldn't concentrate on it. So I've started it again as well, and it's so brilliant. I love it. But it does take me immediately back to that godawful summer in a very visceral way, which makes me somewhat uncomfortable. A couple of historical murder mysteries. And I've just started The Anarchy by William Dalrymple, which is about the role of the British East India company in South Asia.

Currently watching: Literally? I've got the replay of Stage 3 of the Tour de France Femmes on right now because I couldn't watch it live. (Stupid having to work for a living.) In the greater sense, I've just finished watching The Law According to Lidia Poet on Netflix, which hits all sorts of buttons for me, because I do love a good period mystery show-- especially if it's not set in the UK. Plus the costuming is fabulous. I'm two episodes into the second season of Shadow & Bone, but-- eh, I dunno. I really am only interested in one or two of the storylines, so I'm not sure I'm going to finish it.

Current obsession: I am so sorry to everyone who has suddenly been thrown into my rabid cycling fandom, especially if you started following me for, like, Andor stuff or whatever. I'll be somewhat normal again soon, I promise, and will only occasionally reblog GIFsets of Wout van Aert doing Wout van Aert-ish things until it's time for the Vuelta. What you have to understand is that this is not a new thing for me: I've been following men's pro cycling in the form of the Tour de France since I was... twelve? Thirteen? That's when I got seriously into long-distance cycling for a while, there. And while I'm nowhere near as fit as I used to be and the week-long cycling journeys my dad and I used to do are now well out of my reach, I still watch cycling obsessively. It used to be just the Tour de France, and then I started following riders and related folks on various social media platforms, and then started listening to podcasts, and then I started watching the other Grand Tours, and the past several years I've also gotten sucked into watching the spring Classics, and now I've also fallen down the rabbit hole of women's pro cycling, too. And as an obsession it is at its most all-consuming every year during July, which is when the Tour is on-- and I live blog the whole thing. (Not on this platform, although I've considered it.) Like, I do detailed narrative stage-by-stage write ups. The document for this year's total recap wound up being 46k words long, so. Yeah. Definitely an obsession, and it's one that everyone around me just has to kind of learn to live with during the summer every year.

And if you would like to answer these questions yourself, please consider yourself tagged! I love learning things about folks.

[south-park-meta]

instead of working on writing my zombie fanfic i just made cover art, so i'm just going to post this along with the prologue:

The rabbit died so the human could live. 

That truth had always been the sort of thing Stan grappled with. He’d worried over the conditions of the cow on his plate even after he’d come to terms with the ethics of eating his mom’s pot roast. One of the only good things about living on Tegridy had been buying milk and eggs at a farmer’s market and being able to ride his bike a few miles to peer over a hand-driven fence to see the animals grazing free. His mom tutted a little at the price, I don’t know, Stanley..., but commented on how rich and orange the yolks were in their omelets the next morning. His dad hadn’t noticed the color or the price until Tegridy had started hemorrhaging money, then told Stan to get a job and buy his own eggs if he cared that much about chickens. He didn’t get a job, and his mom frowned at the paleness of the yolks. 

When he was fourteen, Wendy had a makeup boycott. Stan hadn’t understood her having an actual boycott. Wendy had only started wearing makeup consistently when she was twelve-and-a-half, and she said it was for him, but he only ever noticed her wearing it when she called his attention to a particular part of her face. Don’t my eyes look nice today? She'd ask. Stan would say ‘yes’ and then have to guess whether it was the eyeshadow, eyeliner, or eyelashes that were looking nice. Kenny and Kyle were both quicker on the draw about it. Kenny would send him a text to tell him what it was sometimes. Kyle never helped him out that way; he sometimes had the idea that Kyle wanted him to get it wrong, though that wasn’t the kind of thing either of them understood until Stan told Kyle he was thinking of joining the Space Force two weeks before summer their senior year. 

In any case he had asked Wendy, “Couldn’t you just... not wear it?” considering it was ‘for him’ and he barely ever noticed it. But as it turned out, it wasn’t just for him, it was for everybody, and no she couldn’t just not wear it. Women who wore makeup were more respected in the workplace. They were seen as more professional. They made more money. She had slammed her mascara into the palm of his hand. He looked at it and said, “Isn't this stuff tested on bunnies? You shouldn’t use it anyway.” 

“You know that, but not anything about what I’m talking about?” 

Stan knew what she was talking about because he had listened to her talk about it. He was still just to the left of truly understanding it, somehow agreeing with her for all the wrong reasons.  

More than a decade on there were rabbits caged in his front yard. They had plenty of room to run. They had more than enough food to eat. They were strong, vibrant, happy. They were going to die. 

There was another cage in his yard. It stood empty, but not long ago had held Nurse Bronski. This one had been made to be constricting: The woman inside had had her arms and legs bound tight with leather belts, but would not have had the room to stand if she had been let free. Stuck on her knees, there was a hole in the top of the cage that only her head could fit through. Her teeth had been knocked out with the butt of one of Uncle Jimbo’s .22 rifles, hit until the jaw hung slack. She’d had a gag in her mouth to prevent biting all the same.  

Stan had taken the electric turkey carver his family had used at their last real Thanksgiving to expose his old school nurse’s brain to air. 

A week later she was dead. 

Again. 

For good this time, so it seemed. 

Zombies starved just like anyone. Stan and Kyle had walked out on a Tuesday morning to find Nurse Bronski sitting still in her cage. She hadn’t cried out in hunger before she went. All she’d done was try to bite at Stan whenever he walked by. It wasn’t human. It wasn’t even animalistic. An animal would have tried to chew at its gag, would have broken bones trying to get to freedom. Nurse Bronski had moaned through the day and night and tried to snap only when she saw someone to bite. The brainlessness of it had made it easier for Stan when he saw her dead. He still gave her a kick to see if she moved, as though she was laying a trap, when he went to haul the body out. 

Kyle had chewed his lip and said nothing on it until he rolled over to shake Stan awake at three AM that Wednesday. Stan had known the guilt was coming and had woken up the second Kyle’s hand touched his shoulder. Kyle had talked until sunrise. 

Stan had been the one to take a syringe to Nurse Bronski’s brain, back when she was still alive enough to try and bite. It had been Kyle who injected those contents into the first rabbit, attenuating the virus through their bodies just like Louis Pasteur had done more than a hundred years before.  

Stan looked out their kitchen window. The rabbits’ spines were sitting in glass jars on the sill, drying. He looked past the bones out at the rabbits as Kyle prepared the injection. 

It was the fourteenth shot, on the fourteenth day, that Kyle put into Stan’s arm on the hottest day of July. 

“That should be the last one,” Kyle said. He covered the shot with a Band-Aid and sealed it with a kiss. 

Stan looked to Kyle. “Now I just have to get someone to bite me so I know it worked.” 

“Don’t you dare.” 

Kyle sounded actually upset. Stan huffed a little laugh. He wouldn’t really, of course, but the point was there. No matter the science that the theory held, until there was true threat of infection there was no proof of concept. Nurse Bronski’s exposed brain, the rabbits’ spinal cords sitting in jars on their windowsills, the daily injections. Until there was a bite, it was nothing more than Bebe Stevens giving the girls cootie shots in the second grade.